• March Brown Time

    Spring is here. That means it’s March Brown time. I saw a small hatch on the river last week. Here is one of them. I think it’s early, but our weather has been so mild I’m really not surprised. In fact, I was looking for them. I took one of my bug vials filled with Purel…

  • Carrie Stevens Pink Beauty Streamer

    Time for another Throw Back Thursday fly…the Carrie Stevens Pink Beauty Streamer. Some of you may have seen the Carrie Stevens Pink Beauty Streamer before, but this is the first time as a TBT fly. There is a certain beauty about Carrie Stevens streamers. The sleekness of lines, combination of colors…I’ve only tied two of them,…

  • Crooked River Flies – Done

    If you’ve been following my posts lately, you know I’ve been working on a project to complete a box of flies for the Crooked River. Well, it’s finished. Here are the Crooked River Flies – done! These flies are variations of established fly patterns created by Bill Seitz, who I call “Crooked River Bill.” He…

  • Bees and Throw Back Thursday

    Yes, another week has passed and it’s time for the next version of Throw Back Thursday Flies…how about bees? I found these bees in one of my antique fly wallets. Sorry, I can’t help you with the name. I’m just guessing it’s a bee pattern. But I could be wrong. What do you think it is? But I…

  • Craig Mathews Winter Seminar

    What a great weekend. I had an opportunity to attend the Craig Mathews Winter Seminar sponsored jointly by my own Central Oregon Flyfishers and Sunriver Anglers. I’ve written about Craig Mathews in previous posts (Craig Mathews and Blue Ribbon Flies) and how much I like and fish flies from Blue Ribbon Flies in West Yellowstone,…

  • Zebra Midge

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday fly is the Zebra Midge. Some quick Internet research indicates the Zebra Midge was developed in 1996 by Ted Wellington. Ted had completed a fly order for Wendy Gunn of Lee’s Ferry Anglers in Arizona and continued to sit at the fly tying desk and tyed a dozen each of…

  • Craig Mathews and Blue Ribbon Flies

    I’m really looking forward to this weekend, February 21 and 22, 2015. Craig Mathews from Blue Ribbon Flies in West Yellowstone, Montana will be in Bend to provide a 2-day fly fishing seminar entitled Exploring Yellowstone Country’s Overlooked Waters. Craig is a wealth of information, so you better not miss an incredible opportunity to learn…

  • Copper John

    John Barr’s Copper John is this week’s TBT fly. He completed the fly design in 1996 after three years of development. The Copper John is such an effective fly design, John Barr ties it in many colors and variations. The original fly is tied in sizes 10 – 18. But in his book, Barr Flies, he…

  • Midges

    Midges. Do you know what a midge is? And how important midges are in the trout’s diet? Very! You’ll find midges in rivers and lakes. Most of the time, midge pupae are the fly patterns experienced fly fishers concentrate on fishing. More on what that means shortly.  I just finished these flies as I complete my…

  • RS2

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday fly is the RS2, developed by Rim Chung. This is a recent tie, following the original pattern sheet. I’ve used natural beaver dubbing and webbing from a dun colored hackle for the wing. The first time I tied this fly was in the 1990’s and for some reason thought it…